Basti The Boy Who Lived: Enter the Great Hall of Hogwarts School!

I have a serious confession to make. I had an agreement with my husband (who helps me plan the ideas to write in this blog) that I will be writing and posting today about some other suppliers that we’d like to put a spotlight on.

However.

I just came out last week from what I could say is one of the best parties Party Magic has EVER styled. I’m talking about the theme:

HARRY POTTER: THE BOY WHO LIVED

Party Magic by Michelle Lao’s interpretation of a Harry Potter Party. (Best event by Party Magic EVER?)

Just talking about it gives me them shivers. Imagine the possibilities!

What came out of the Party Magic team’s hard work was even more astounding (at least to myself). I am so smitten, I feel like the first time I tasted cotton candy again: on a cloudy sugar high.

I think this is the right way to phrase that question. There are so many Harry Potter fans that it’s easier to find out who is not a fan rather than who is.

Unfortunately, I can’t count myself as a fan (until recently when I was prepping for this party).

Fortunately, my husband happens to be the Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team (or so he thinks in an alternate universe)! He became my “tour guide” into everything Harry Potter.

Once I did my research and read the books, I instantly understood why Harry Potter was so beloved. JK Rowling writes so darn well (pardon the language) that reading her books felt like you were inside Harry’s world, a fellow Gryffindor, sharing Harry’s struggles and rejoicing with his triumphs.

There is no need for scientists to invent teleportation, or time travel, because JK Rowling already did it.

THE CONCEPT: THE GREAT HALL OF HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

My client, Christine, is totally bonkers over Harry Potter. I was just executing her vision actually, which was to recreate the Great Hall scene in Hogwarts.

Our work came out this way:

The characters were “cartoonized” to provide a lighter, more “kiddie”-like feel. Basti is Harry in this scene, who is still a baby wizard with a wisp of hair! See the lightning in his eyeglasses!

The idea was to recreate the front area of the great hall, where the sorting hat was and where the “presidential table” (with Dumbledore sitting) was. I thought it would be a good idea to also include this vintage shelf with all the various implements of a Witch or a Wizard:

In no other party did I feel the need to beef up on the littlest of details more strongly than this one. You see while doing my research, I saw that I wasn’t the first to do a Harry Potter party. However, while the others relied on nifty, expensive special effects (LED wall), or large looming props, I thought that it would be a great to go back to the roots of styling: laser-focus attention to details.

Let me show you what I mean.

Platform 9 and 3/4 (entrance set-up)

When the guests arrive, they are greeted by this massive brick wall that says Platform 9 3/4 – the magically hidden train station bound for Hogwarts.

How do you recreate the magical way people pass through the brick wall? We made a sort of “curtain” from the brick wall where people can pass through. Voila!

Here is dear Hedwig, standing guard over Harry’s luggages!

Before the kids enter the party, they are made to choose from a variety of wands. Expelliarmus!

Headmaster Dumbledore’s Study (right side of the stage)

Dumbledore’s study contains all the rare stuff, including samplings of Dragon Blood, and Re’em Blood.

Dumbledore’s impressive collection of battle wands. (Maybe includes wands he confiscated from other students?)

Dumbledore’s study also contains various essential tomes, one of which lays out the instructions for the Essence of Dittany.

Mr. Mulpepper’s Apothecary in Diagon Alley (photo-op area)

Directional signages point to various important places in Harry’s world.

Mr. Mulpepper’s Apothecary is a curious little shop that contains various potion ingredients such as the ones shown below.

Mr. Mulpepper’s wooden cart is filled with elements from the Wizarding world, such as Polyjuice Potion (the famous one Hermione ingested!), Pickled Slugs (yuck!), a vintage typewriter, and a glowing crystal ball.

And wait! Poor Hedwig’s also here in her cage! Did Harry forget to pick her up before he left the store?

The Great Hall Tablescape

Whenever I think about the Daily Prophet, I always remember the headline where Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban!

The table contains all sorts of elements such as: candle sticks, sorting hats, spellbooks, and birdcages (for the owls).

The Leaky Cauldron (dessert station)

What Harry Potter party is complete without The Leaky Cauldron?

The Leaky Cauldron is that famous pub that connects to Diagon Alley, and where all sorts of things happened during Harry’s time (it was Hagrid who first introduced Harry to the pub).

Perhaps this is why the Cauldron is the center of all the latest news and gossip as well!

Such as the latest headlines from The Daily Prophet, and the latest Proclamations!

While everybody is dining in the Great Hall, the Quidditch Championship Match rages in the skies.

The Great Hall was partitioned into 4 long tables, each belonging to one of the four Houses (and Quidditch teams) of Hogwarts.

ALL ABOARD THE HOGWARTS TRAIN!

Even if the Harry Potter series has come to an end, his story will live on. This party is also a toast to the genius of JK Rowling, one of the greatest creative minds our world has seen.

Basti: I look forward to the day you are big enough to wear wizard’s robes! The happiest of birthdays to you!

P.S. TUTORIAL ON HOW TO DIY A HARRY POTTER PARTY

In my usual meandering thoughts, I had an idea: what if we featured tutorials on how to recreate the Harry Potter party above? The beauty about this party is that it is actually quite possible for any mom out there to DIY this. Take heed though: possible, but not easy. It takes a lot of time, effort, and patience to churn out craft work like this, so you’d best be ready to go all out on this.

But, it is possible.

If you are interested, I would appreciate it if you could write a comment below, or drop me an email at michelle@michellelao.com.

Welcome To My World!

I'm Michelle, mother of the 2 sweetest girls in the world, Sofia and Chloe. I'm an event stylist and owner of the boutique styling shop, Party Magic. I love doing crafts, design, cooking, and anything that has anything to do with beauty and art.